(LifeSiteNews) — The Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council has released a new policy handbook calling for “anti-Islamophobia education” to be integrated into Canadian school curriculums, along with at least $40 million in federal funding for security at mosques and Islamic schools.
The handbook was launched on Parliament Hill earlier this month to mark the fifth anniversary of the June 6, 2021, killing of a Muslim family in London, Ontario. NDP House Leader Heather McPherson joined CMPAC executive director Khaled Al-Qazzaz and youth representatives at the event.
McPherson has been one of the most vocally pro-Muslim figures in Canadian politics, publicly showing her support for Palestinian Muslims in many ways, such as dawning a Kiffiyeh, marching in pro-Palestine parades, and wearing a “watermelon pin.” The MP stated that Muslims face discrimination, intimidation, exclusion, and a need for heightened security. She said that Canada must address all forms of “hate” but specifically singled out Islamophobia.
CMPAC’s recommendations include implementing prior parliamentary reports, strengthening protections for Muslim places of worship and schools with significant new funding, addressing so-called “structural Islamophobia” in government regulatory systems, and investing in education, public awareness campaigns, research, youth engagement, and initiatives to counter online content that the group views as “misinformation.” The $40 million security request applies to roughly 755 mosques and 100 Islamic schools, with an additional dedicated stream for broader “anti-Islamophobia” work.
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Unbeknownst to many, taxpayers are already funding various “anti-racism” and “anti-hate” programs. $273 million has already been committed to “combatting hate” (specifically Islamophobia and antisemitism) as part of the Canada Action Plan. Over $110 million has already been committed to Canada’s “Anti-Racism Strategy,” a multiyear commitment that aims to fund projects, education, and research that targets various forms of racism, specifically including Islamophobia (even though Islam is not a race).
Canada already has an Office of the Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia and has produced official guides on the topic following earlier initiatives, such as the 2017 M-103 motion. Throughout the 2000s – especially in the Justin Trudeau era – Muslims have been increasingly accepted into Canadian society. With a rising population that has quadrupled throughout the 2000s, multiple Muslim MPs elected in recent years, and a now massive presence in Canada’s biggest cities (~10% of Toronto’s population as of 2021), Islam has never been more supported in Canada’s history, which seemingly contrasts the notion that Islamophobia is amongst the nation’s most significant concerns.
The push for mandatory-style curriculum content on this issue comes as parents across the country continue to voice concerns about ideological programming in schools. Similar debates have played out regarding gender ideology, where many families attest that schools are bypassing parental authority and presenting contested views as unquestionable truth. Critics of the “Islamophobia” label often point out that it can be applied not only to genuine hatred or violence but also to legitimate questions about Islamic doctrine and historical patterns.
Conspicuously missing from these repeated calls for new education programs, dedicated funding streams, and heightened institutional focus, is any equivalent emphasis on anti-Christian hatred or violence. Christians remain the most persecuted religious group worldwide, with thousands killed or displaced annually in many regions, churches burned or vandalized, and open discrimination in multiple countries. In Canada and other Western nations, incidents of church vandalism, desecration, and hostility toward Christian expression often receive far less sustained attention or policy response than comparable cases involving other faiths. Yet, proposals like CMPAC’s push a narrative in schools and public spending that rarely acknowledges this broader reality or that treats anti-Christian sentiment with similar urgency.
Journalist Riley Donovan posted a clip of the CMPAC announcement on X, and reactions were incredibly sharp, with the amount of replies far outweighing the number of likes.
Very few online reactions attempted to defend the newly released handbook, with an overwhelming abundance of comments signaling a fatigue from Islamic “social justice” ideology.